(After)life
by horrorfanfics13
Summary: Violet and Tate have been best friends since they were little. Now that they're both juniors in high school will something more blossom or will they be stuck in the friend zone forever?
1. Chapter 1

It was August 23, 2013.

Tate woke up and smacked the top of his alarm clock. He made a sleepy groan before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He dragged himself to the shower and hopped in. He adjusted the water several times and finally started waking up. By the time he got out and dried off, he felt awake. Finally. He dried off and threw on a red striped shirt and jeans. He checked his phone, nothing, as usual. He put the phone in his pocket and went downstairs. He grabbed a box of cereal and made a bowl.  
"Tate! ..Taaate! Tate.. Tate, dear. There you are." Constance approached him.  
"Yeah, here I am." he replied. Tate was never fond of his mother.  
"I just wanted to wish you good luck at your first day of school. A junior! Almost a senior and then you'll be leaving me."  
"We can only hope."  
Tate finished the bowl of cereal, put in the sink, grabbed his backpack, and left.

Violet woke up and shut off her phone alarm clock. She went to her bathroom and turned on the shower. She looked at herself in the mirror before undressing. She hated her body. She felt depressed. She grabbed her makeup bag and took out a razor. She knew she needed to stop cutting, but it was an addiction. That's what people didn't get. When she cut, it was more mental than physical. It was like the pain escaping her body with every cut. She didn't care about the physical pain, it was the emotional pain that was killing her. She got into the shower and cried. She wished she could just find someone who understood her as well as her best friend, Tate. He was 17, he was gorgeous. She was 16. She got out of the shower and got dressed. She went downstairs and saw Tate waiting for her with a cup of tea. "Thanks" she smiled at him. He smiled back. They discussed the normal stuff, new bands they'd found, last nights episode of The Walking Dead and Vampire Diaries. She knew Tate didn't actually like either of the shows, but he watched them with her because she enjoyed them. After she finished her tea, they got up and walked to the bus stop.

While they sat on the bus Violet pulled out her phone.  
"This guy added me on Facebook yesterday." she said  
"Oh. Is he hot?" Tate joked.  
"Yeah, he's pretty attractive. He lives in Scotland though. He looks like you a little actually.."  
"So you think I'm hot now?"  
"I don't know. I guess."  
They both nervously laughed.  
"Well, Vi, you're not hot. You're beautiful. If this guy, or any guy, tries telling you otherwise, I'll kick his ass."  
They shared a look and both worried that the other would catch on to their true feelings. Both Tate and Violet were in love with each other, but neither knew it. When Violet looked at Tate, she saw her world, she saw the boy she could go to for anything, she saw her life and her future. When Tate looked at Violet, he saw the only person he'd ever truly cared about, the only person who could ever make him nervous or scared, because he was scared of losing her, he was scared she'd find someone who was a good guy, that would never put her in danger.

They'd been best friends since 2nd grade when Tate was a loner who loved music and Violet was ripping heads off Barbies to scare the other girls. Violet saw him sitting alone one day so she brought him a Barbie. When she handed it to him he was taken back.  
"Why would I want that?"  
"Because you're angry."  
"What makes you think that?"  
"You're all alone over here because you're different. I'm different too. Rip the Barbie head off. You'll feel better."  
Tate did as Violet insisted, and they both laughed.  
"I'm Violet."  
"Hi Violet, I'm Tate."  
They sat and talked about what kind of things they liked, and realized they were next door neighboors. It scared their parents because Constance always thought Violet was crazy, and Vivien and Ben thought Tate was a psycho. It never stopped them though. They were best friends, and didn't care who knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the middle of Geography class. Tate and Violet had all but 2 classes together. The teacher told everyone to pair into groups, so Violet automatically went to Tate. They sat in their usual spot in the back, where no one could hear them or see them.  
"Alright, pop quiz! Capital of... England?" Tate asked.  
"London. Capital of Bulgaria?" she responded.  
"Pfft.. uh.. Russia?"  
"Russia is a country, and it's not even in Europe. The continent we're studying."  
"Okayokay, Hungary?"  
"Hungary is also a country, the answer was Sofia."  
"Damn. I really suck at this stuff. Come over tonight and help me with it?"  
"I have some homework to do.." she couldn't hide that she was sad, he had called her beautiful on the bus, then acted like it was nothing and went straight back to friend status.  
"You okay, Vi?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine." she stared at his lips.  
"Tell me what's going on, Vi." he stared at her lips back.  
"I'll just see you tonight, okay?"  
She got up and walked out of the class before he could say anything else. He sat and wondered what he had done wrong. Was he too obvious of his true feelings and the whole idea was repulsive to her? Maybe she was really serious with this online dude in Scotland. He needed to figure out what was going on, and he planned on it.

Violet walked down the hall, to her locker. She reached in and grabbed her makeup bag and shoved it in her bag before walking to the bathroom. On her way there she ran into Leah, the school bitch who had every intention of making Violet's life Hell.  
"What's up skank?"  
"Leah, just leave me alone."  
"No. Give me your bag." she shoved Violet.  
"Why? You need a new face? I would too if I looked like that." she shoved Leah back, hard enough Leah's head smacked against a wall and Violet ran off, to the bathroom, so she could cut again.

Tate's doorbell rang and he ran to get it and let Violet in. He opened the door, she was breathtaking. Her face lit up when she saw him, as did his. They grabbed some snacks and ran upstairs to his bedroom. He shut the door and took off his hoodie. It lifted up part of his shirt, far enough Violet saw a bit of his abs and had to turn away. They sat on his bed together and looked at each other for a few seconds.  
"So where do we start?" she asked, breaking the tension.  
"We start... with you telling me what was wrong." he replied.  
"I just.. I don't know, Tate." she wanted to tell him so badly, but didn't want to ruin their friendship.  
"Vi, talk to me. I've always been here for you.. I.. love you.. Violet." he touched her cheek lightly.  
"I love you, too. That's the problem.."  
"You know..?"  
"Know what?"  
"How I feel?"  
"I think so.. I know it's probably not the same as how I feel."  
"Oh..." he looked disappointed.  
"Did I miss something?"  
"No, I get it. You're gorgeous, and you have guys in Scotland all over you and I'm just this loner kid who's been in love with you since 2nd grade."  
"What?! Tate, that's what I was afraid of telling you! I've been in love with you for so long. I thought you'd think I was gross."  
"Why would I think that?"  
"I don't know."  
They both stared at each other for a long time before Tate opened his textbook. They studied for a half hour, though neither were paying attention. Violet's phone rang, she checked her text. It was Vivien telling her to come home for dinner.  
"Oh, uh, Tate I gotta go home. My mom says dinner is ready."  
"Okay."  
They stood up and she walked towards the door. Tate grabbed her hand and hugged for what felt like forever. Neither wanted that moment to end. Right as she started to let go, he grabbed her face and kissed her. Tate felt sparks and saw fireworks, Violet felt so many butterflies she thought she'd float away when he let go. They both released the kiss slowly and looked into each others eyes. They smiled and held hands for a few seconds before she finally let go and walked home feeling smitten.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day was awkward among Tate and Violet. They didn't talk much on the bus, and when Violet got to school she saw her only other friend, Elena. Her and Elena weren't as close because Elena was always traveling with her family and most of her studies were online.  
"Hey 'Lena."  
"Hey Vi-Vi! What's up?"  
"Nothing really. Just needing a break from Tate."  
"I get that. I just got back from Scotland, I met this insanely hot guy."  
"Weird, this guy just added me from Scotland."  
"Show me his profile? ..Oh my God! That's him! Damon Salvatore right?"  
"What? Seriously?! Yes!"  
"He's from Glasgow?"  
"YES. I only talked to him once, he pissed me off. All yours."  
"Thanks Vi! Tate is all yours, as well."  
The two girls laughed and gossiped until the bell rang.

"History class. Fuck." Violet thought. She wasn't looking forward to talking to Tate about last night. He hadn't treated her like a friend, but he also hadn't treated her like a girlfriend this morning. She sat at her desk and tried not to think about it. A few minutes in the teacher said "..so get with your partners from yesterday and quiz each other". Tate approached her desk and she started to choke up. He just stared at her and they went to their usual spot.  
"So.. What should we talk about?"  
"Well we could go over the capitals of Europe again."  
"Vi. You know what I mean."  
"Tate, I've been in love with you since 2nd grade. You know me better than anyone. You should know that if you kissed me, then said nothing and pretended it didn't happen, I'd be hurt."  
"I didn't know what to say. What do you want to happen? It's not like you want to date me."  
"Whatever. Can we just focus on this please? PLEASE?"  
"Okay."  
The rest of the class they discussed Europe, as if that's what either really wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

Tate got home and walked to the kitchen. He saw Constance sitting with Billie Dean, her press-on nails 'psychic'. Tate thought it was a bunch of bullshit. He grabbed something to drink and started towards his bedroom.  
"Tate!" Constance yelled out.  
"What. Mother." he grunted back.  
"Would you like to talk to Billie Dean about anything? She's contacted Beau."  
"Oh? Is that true? Did she also figure out you and Larry murdered him?"  
Constance just glared until Tate walked upstairs to his room. He slammed the door shut and sat on his bed. He felt angry. How could this He thought about Violet. What was he supposed to do about that? He couldn't date his best friend. He couldn't lose her. He needed her, forever. He grabbed some old anti-depressants. He broke it up until it was powder like and then snorted it. He took about 8 more. He knew it was wrong, but he'd never felt more alive. He called Elena, he knew she'd have drugs. They agreed to meet in front of his house in 20 minutes. He checked his eyes in the bathroom mirror, they were red. He could never get past Constance like that. He grabbed some eye drops and put on a baggie black hoodie. He ran downstairs and told Constance he just needed some air. He met Elena and greeted her with a hug. She handed him a bag of cocaine, along with a bottle of pills. He handed her $150 and he turned to walk inside.  
"Hey Tate?"  
"What."  
"Don't break her heart. She really loves you."  
He nodded and walked back in the house. He went upstairs, put the drugs in a drawer, and went to sleep. He knew what he was going to do tomorrow. He knew he'd probably lose Violet. He knew he'd be dead within hours. He didn't care. He didn't feel anything.

Violet got off the bus and walked into the house, she grabbed an apple and went upstairs. She slammed her door shut and wrote into her journal. She wrote about how Tate had treated her after he had kissed her last night. She hated it. She was in love with him. She'd do anything for him. She decided she'd tell him tomorrow she wanted to be with him forever.

It was 3:27 am and Violet was still awake. She grabbed her phone and saw a message on Facebook. It was Damon. It read  
"I heard you know my girl. ;)" she thought about her talk with Elena earlier.  
"Yeah, I do." she replied.  
"Did she tell you she's coming to live with me? We're getting married."  
"No, she didn't. That's cool."  
"You seem down, you okay?"  
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just some boy issues."  
"Well, if you need any help, you can always come visit Elena and I in Scotland. Sleep well xx"  
She put the phone down and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Violet woke up the next morning, got ready for school, and walked to the bus stop. Tate wasn't there, he wasn't at her house either. She looked at Constance's house, Constance's car was gone. Maybe he was skipping today. She got on the bus, and sat in the back by herself. She sent a text to Tate that said "Where are you?", he never replied. She shoved the phone in her bag and got off the bus. She got to her locker, and still no Tate. She went to his locker, he wasn't there either. She pulled her phone out, nothing from Tate. She was about to call him when the bell rang. She went through 3 class periods, only one she would have had with Tate, but he wasn't in either. She got to the library and decided to just let it go, she'd go to his house after school. She grabbed a book about birds and read. About halfway into her book she heard what sounded like a gunshot and a girl scream. She didn't know what was going on, but a rocker stoner kid ran in and locked the doors.  
"What's going on?!" one of the kids asked.  
"I don't.. I don't know some kid is shooting up the school!"  
It took about 10 seconds for it to sink in exactly what was going on with Violet. Tate was killing people because she wouldn't be with him. Childish. Still, she ran and hid underneath a desk.

The same morning, Tate woke up, smacked the alarm clock, and grabbed the drugs. He crushed up the pills, and snorted them all. Then he snorted some of the cocaine. Constance had left early, some bullshit about Billie Dean's past. He didn't care. He loaded up a few guns, and put on his dark black trench coat, black shirt, black jeans, and black combat boots. He looked out the window and saw Violet, she looked beautiful, even when he was lost and high. He waited till she had left on the bus, and then left for the school.

He got to the school and saw Elena. The last person he wanted to see was her.  
"Tate!" she looked at the guns "Tate.. what are you.. doing?"  
"Elena, get out of here."  
"Tate think about this. You don't want to do this."  
"Elena, you have a husband waiting for you in Scotland, go to him."  
He knew he had to be fast, he knew Elena would call the cops. He walked into the office, and killed everyone in there. He walked into the classroom with Leah, the girl who'd hurt the woman he loved, aimed the gun, and shot her. Along with everyone else in the classroom. There were 3 people who got away. Next was the library. One door was locked. he got into the other. Not without shooting a teacher first. He started whistling a tune from his favorite movie, Kill Bill. As he whistled Twisted Nerve, he heard a girl. He went towards her, and saw her. "No, no, God please no don't!" she started screaming. "Do you believe in God?" he said to the girl. "..yes..." she was shaking. "Good." he aimed the gun and shot her. He heard the sound of a telephone and walked over to see a nerdy kid dialing, he aimed and shot once again. He started to walk out when a guy stood up and said "Hey." he turned. Could this guy really be this stupid? "Listen you've done enough here-" he shot him. He then heard a girl crying, flipped up a table, aimed the gun, and shot the cheerleader.

Again, he started to walk away when he heard "Tate." It was Violet. She sounded like an angel. He turned to her, tears forming in his eyes.  
"Tate, I started this, just kill me and leave them alone."  
"Violet, I love you. I can't live without you."  
"Neither can I. I don't want us to be friends anymore, I want to be with you forever."  
"Even now?"  
"Even now."  
"So come with me." he held out his hand.  
"Okay. Just stop killing people. Leave the guns here." she took his hand.  
He put the guns down and they ran away, out the back of the school and snuck back to Violet's house. They ran upstairs and up into the attic. They shut the door. No one would find them there. She turned to him, full of disbelief at what she'd just saw. Her best friend, the love of her life, taking innocent peoples lives right in front of her.  
"Tate, why did you do all that?"  
"Vi, I'm going to be honest with you, okay? I took a lot of drugs. I was angry, I was scared. I wanted you more than anything, more than words could even say, and I was so scared that once I got you, you'd realize what an idiot I am or how bad I am and find someone better. Then I'd lose you forever and I just couldn't handle that.. but then you went with me, even after you saw me take the lives of people you knew. Now you tell me, what kind of sick psychopath does that? You're never going to have a normal life again, Vi. Even if they kill me, they'll take you down with me."  
"I don't care, Tate! All I care about is that I'm with you. You're all I care about. Let them kill me, at least I died with the person I love."  
For the first time in his life, Tate was speechless. Violet reached up and kissed him, he started to pull back but she didn't let him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and they kissed for what felt like forever. When they finally released, Tate kept his hands on her hips and looked deep into her eyes.  
"They'll never let us be together ever again.."  
"Yes, they will. I know how we can be together. For always."  
"How? I'll do anything Tate."  
He pulled out a bottle of pills.  
"We can take these."  
"You want us to commit suicide?"  
"We can stay here forever, with Beau and all the other people in here."  
"...Okay. I'll do it."  
They kissed one more time before starting to take the pills. They each took half a bottle. They both passed out, and died in eachothers arms.


	6. Chapter 6

Violet woke up and looked at her dead body. Then she saw Tate's. She sat by him.  
"Tate..." she whispered.  
"Vi." she heard someone behind her.  
She stood up and saw him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a few minutes. They both smiled.  
"I'm sorry I did this to us, Violet."  
"No, don't be. I kind of like it. I don't have to worry about death, or losing you anymore."  
"I love you."  
"I love you, too. What's the next step?"  
"Well, they'll find our bodies, our parents will probably go through some major PTSD issues, and then slowly, people will forget what happened and move on. Then we can watch over them."  
"What do we do?"  
"We can do whatever we want. We can order fake credit cards and buy anything we've ever wanted, we can haunt people, and once every year, we can go anywhere we want."  
"That doesn't sound so bad."  
She reached over, held his hand, and kissed him. He kissed her back hard and started to slide his hand down her waist. Right when things heated up they heard someone pull down the door. Violet jumped back and hid. "Don't worry, they can't see us unless you want them to." he grabbed her and held her. He knew what was about to go down.

Vivien and Ben walked up the stairs and turned on a light. They saw their daughters body, Vivien screamed and started crying, while Ben gasped and started crying. Neither knew what to think or do.  
"Ben, I just.. why would she do this to us?!" Vivien asked  
"She loved him. He was a wanted man, Viv. That's the only explanation I can think of." Ben responded, depression filling his voice.  
"I better um... I better.. call Constance and the police." Vivien was in complete shock.  
They turned to go downstairs.  
"Wait, Mom! Dad!" Violet yelled.  
They both turned in shock. It wasn't possible.  
"Listen to me, Mom, Dad, I did this for Tate and me. I need him. I saved those kids, I saved Tate. Don't be mad at him, this was my fault.. and one day, he'll be your dead son-in-law."  
"Violet, we know why you did this. We just never wanted to lose you." Ben said to his daughter, still feeling like a mad man.  
"Now you never have to. Die with us. You can stay here forever, too." She said, both hopeful and sad.  
"You know Ben, that isn't a bad idea." Vivien said.

They grabbed two guns, so they could do it at the same time. They wanted to do it in the living room with calming music playing in the background. Vivien had a few candles lit, the music playing, and her family. Tate included. Her and Ben sat on the ground, surrounded with pillows. They'd left notes for their family, along with some money to Constance.  
"I love you, Ben Harmon."  
"I love you, Vivien Harmon."  
They grabbed hands, stuck the guns in their mouths, locked eyes, shared a smile, and pulled the trigger.


End file.
